1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surgical retractor apparatus, and more particularly, to apparatus for retracting organs or body tissue during endoscopic or laparoscopic surgical procedures.
2. Description of Related Art
In laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures, surgery is performed through a small incision made in the patient's body, generally to provide access for a trocar or cannula device. Once extended into the patient's body, the cannula device permits insertion of a variety of surgical instruments including scissors, graspers, and staplers.
Surgical retractors for use in endoscopic and laparoscopic surgical procedures are also known in the art. However, prior art endoscopic retractors are often inherently limited in their ability to effect retraction of large organs. This limitation results from the fact that the operative surface area of the retractor portions of many of these instruments is limited by the diameter of the trocar or cannula device through which the instrument must pass to be introduced to the operative site. In the past, this limitation has been overcome through the use of mechanical linkages having a plurality of moving parts which expand the surface area of the retractor portion once the instrument has been extended through the cannula device. However, instruments having linkage assemblies are often expensive to manufacture.
Therefore, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a surgical retractor for use in endoscopic or laparoscopic procedures having a variably configurable operative surface area.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a surgical retractor for use in endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures which is inexpensive to manufacture.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a surgical retractor for use in endoscopic or laparoscopic procedures which has a minimum number of external moving parts.
It is yet another object of the subject invention to provide a surgical retractor for use in endoscopic or laparoscopic procedures having a substantially atraumatic retractor portion.
These and other objects of the surgical apparatus of the subject invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention.